By KALEY CONNER

kconner@dailynews.net

Hays Medical Center's name just got a little shorter.

Friday afternoon, administrators unveiled a new logo which also featured a new alias, Hays Med.

"Internally here at Hays Medical Center, we've always known ourselves and referred to ourselves as Hays Med," Chief Operating Officer Bryce Young said. "...We are happy to introduce and unveil the brand new Hays Med."

That name also is used for the hospital's Web site, www.haysmed.com, and regional partners use this name in reference to the health care provider, Young said.

The new logo boasts a teal green circle wrapped around the original symbol, a change from the maroon icon the hospital has utilized for about 20 years. The green color was selected to represent life, growth and health, Young said.

The new identity made its debut on the side of the hospital's new digital mammography truck. A crowd was gathered at the hospital Friday to celebrate 30 years of mobile services.

In following weeks, administrators will be making plans to update the hospital's signage.

The organization will retain its formal identity of Hays Medical Center for now, but its "nickname" will be used more often, said Chief Development Officer Jodi Schmidt.

Now was a good time to make the change, as the new mammography truck recently began making routes in the area.

Other projects, like a new physician recruitment Web site and revising the hospital's current site, are in the works, she said.

"We thought the first place was with the new truck, because it was coming to as white as a blank canvas," Schmidt said.

"But now we'll be looking at how we can roll it out everywhere."